Proverbs Pt. 53 Will Our Words Bear Fruit or Cause Problems?

What fruit will our words produce?

Proverbs 12:14  A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him. 

Words really do matter and this text helps us to remember this truth. Today, it seems like everyone is in a mad rush to share their opinion on almost any subject via the internet and social media platforms. Many people mindlessly blurt out an endless stream of thoughts, words and ideas without thinking, in order to be heard. We live in a modern Tower of Babel where conflicting, confusing, chaotic & loud voices reign supreme. 

Yet, God promises to send His peace into our hearts and to love us unconditionally. The born again believer in Jesus Christ is not called to live a life that is governed by  confusion, chaos and turmoil.  

We can be satisfied with good by the fruit of our mouths. We have already learned of the many great benefits derived by working productively with our hands. The idea here is that we can also do productive work with the words that come out of our mouths. 

This means thinking before we speak and avoiding saying something when we are  reacting with strong emotions about something that happened. This means speaking meaningful words with the specific intent to do good for another person. 

Choose to speak good words.

Proverbs 12:25  Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.

There are many people around us everyday who live without hope and joy and peace. The born again Christian experiences (or should experience) hope, joy and peace every day because of knowing the Lord, believing His promises and being strengthened by His Word. Look for that person who has a heavy heart and who struggles while going through life without hope. We can share the words of eternal life with them (John 6:68). They may have heavy hearts because of health, financial or family issues and only Jesus Christ can give them peace and rest (Matthew 11:28-30). 

The good words we speak can be used of God to minister grace into the lives of other hurting people. We are to be the hands, feet, mouth and heart of Christ on this earth as long as He gives us life. A "good" word means morally pure words spoken with love and compassion for the other person. 

Choose a soft answer instead of a harsh retort.

Proverbs 15:1  A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

This text teaches about the "soft answer." A soft answer is when we speak without some emotion boiling up in our soul. It is a careful, thoughtful answer that can help someone else put off an angry spirit so that a meaningful conversation can be had by both parties. 

Grievous words are words full of angry emotions, distrust, or even hatred and they always stir up a prickly defensive hostility in those who hear them. Grievous words do not accomplish anything good. They are divisive instead of unifying, angry instead of respectful.

We can experience joy from using good words. 

Proverbs 15:23  A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!

King Solomon told us that we can have joy if we use our mouths to speak good words, choice words, carefully chosen words to other people. The "answer of his mouth" reminds us how important it is to think before we speak. We study to give an answer rather than thoughtlessly blurting our whatever words come into our minds. 

The valuable impact of good words.

Proverbs 25:11  A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

What does "fitly spoken" mean? It refers to speaking words that are aimed at helping someone who is experiencing troubles or in difficult circumstances. They are words of hope and encouragement designed to lift that persons eyes to the Lord. 

What is the impact of words fitly spoken? It is compared with the best gold and silver, that has been purified and refined to the highest quality. Thus, they are highly desirable words that really mean something to the person that we speak to.

Our words either condemn or justify us. 

Matthew 12:34-37  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  

Our Lord Jesus Christ has some wise counsel for each one of us concerning the words that we speak. If your heart is evil you cannot speak good things. However, if you are born again by the power of God's Spirit then you are able to say good things. Jesus put His finger right on our hearts. He shows us that what is in our heart is what will come out of our mouths. 

Christ goes on to say that we will stand in judgment and given an account for every idle word that we have spoken. An "idle" word is a word spoken thoughtlessly, mindlessly or lazily because we failed to engage our brain before speaking. You see the power of our tongue in this text. Our words can either justify us or condemn us before God. 

Right words come out of the mouth when we are right with God. 

Romans 10:9-10  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

Paul established the same connection in his letter to the church at Rome. The born again believer should confess the Lord Jesus Christ and speak of his faith in Christ's resurrection from the dead. 

The word "confess" means to agree with God about what He said about Jesus Christ in His Word. Thus, we are to tell others what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. These are "right words" that we can speak to other people.

Our heart receives and believes the Word. Our mouth publicly confesses  the gospel of Christ and praises Him. 

Ephesians 4:29  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 

Thus, Paul tells all the churches, do not speak words that are "corrupt communication." The word "corrupt" means communication that is rotten and putrefying like a badly decayed dead animal. James tells us to bridle our tongues and that is another way of saying what Paul said: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth."

Instead our words must be good words that build up other believer in the Christian faith and which minister grace to those who hear them. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

We must put off all the corrupting influences from a wicked, depraved culture because as we take in these evil things into our minds, it will impact what we say to others. 

We must put on the truth from God's Word because it strengthens the faith of other believers and it ministers the grace of God to those around us. 

There is tremendous power in our words. We must speak with our mind, soul and spirit engaged. We must share the truth of God in love, with those around us. 

May the Lord helps us not to mindlessly chatter about things that do not matter. May He convict us where we have spoken that which is corrupt, selfish, hate filled or evil, so that we might confess the sins of our mouths to God. May He encourage us to be careful in what we say, and to speak Bible truth because that is what can change someone's life.

Bob